Theater Reviews

Sep 21, 2005 - Small is more with Nevada Shakespeare's lean, tight hits: "Hamlet" and "Richard III"

By Jack Neal

Never underestimate the inventiveness of the Nevada Shakespeare Company.

With a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to bring Shakespeare to American communities in no more than 75 minutes per play, NSC did a lot of slicing, reconfigured a few characters, and has mounted (for touring) a six-player "Hamlet" and a five-player "Richard III."

Director and resident slicer Jeanmarie Simpson has cooked up these two shows - "Hamlet" remains a tragedy, her "Richard" is a hilarious comedy - and has plans to play them in as many venues as possible all over the State of Nevada.

Shoestring budget meets shoestring production values (just a bare hint of costumes and six chairs pass as a unit set); but that doesn't mean the plays come off with a shoestring impact. Astonishingly entertaining and just as astonishingly true to Shakespeare, Ms. Simpson has two hits on her hands that delighted debut audiences last weekend at Reno's lovely Hawkins Outdoor Amphitheater. "Hamlet" played Saturday night (9/17). "Richard III" played a Sunday matinee (9/18).

Huge credit must go to director Jeanmarie Simpson for her savvy at cutting, casting and directing the plays. Huge credit also to the company's managing artistic director Cameron Crain. These two lovers of theater are the driving force that gives the Nevada Shakespeare Company its successful spin in the direction of viable professional theater in Reno.

Since both Mr. Crain and Ms. Simpson are also in these productions (he's Hamlet, she's Elizabeth in "Richard" and Gertrude in "Hamlet"), the four other actors perform above and beyond juggling fifteen roles between them. This exceptional group of six actors in search of meaning in two plays are a seasoned lot and exciting to behold on stage.

In "Richard III" James Anderson plays King Edward, Brakenbury and Buckingham. Ananda Bena-Weber plays Lady Anne and Queen Mother. Kenneth Brown plays Rivers, Hastings and Richmond. Michael Lopez plays King Richard III. In "Hamlet" James Anderson plays Claudius and Ghost. Ananda Bena-Weber plays Ophelia and Horatio. Kenneth Brown plays Laertes, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Player. How's that for getting more bang for your buck in an Actors Equity production?

Cameron Crain's Hamlet is youthful, funloving and as unforgiving as a young man can be. He delivers the play's most eloquent speeches with a graceful intensity that fits Hamlet's station in life and struggle with life. The interaction between Mr. Crain's Hamlet and the remainder of the characters that populate this most often played English-speaking play is what keen ensemble acting is about.

As Laertes Kenneth Brown is a strong on-stage presence, as he is in all the roles he manages (playing both Rosencrantz and Guildersteen in tandem, as you might guess, has its challenges). James C. Anderson, a most talented Shakespearean actor, is "Hamlet's" regal and tormented Claudius and Ghost. Jeanmarie Simpson, who plays two queen mums in these two plays, is always a pleasure to watch as she manipulates her way through the anguishes of misplaced morality.

Ananda Bena-Weber, an accomplished dancer of note, is just as at home as an actor. Her Ophelia (paired in "Hamlet" with Horatio) was a tour de force of sweetness and love, and sedate and loyal masculinity (Horatio).

If all the world is a stage, then the gifted and magnetic Michael E. Lopez is one of its finest players. Rising to the occasion of Ms. Simpson's comedic "Richard III" with a damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead determination, Mr. Lopez turns King Richard into a kind of nutty Caligula a la Malcolm McDowell in the Gore Vidal near porn epic, "Caligula," circa 1979.

Never fear. There's nothing untoward in Mr. Lopez's Richard, just a ride on the wild side of psychotic mayhem and loads of laughs. Playing "Richard" as a comedy that works as revelatory theater is a testament to Ms. Simpson's conceptualization and Mr. Lopez's virtuosity. Both get oodles of help from Ms. Bena-Weber, her iambic pentameter rap is simply too much, Mr. Brown's Richmond (Can he save the day?), and all the things Mr. Anderson brings to this wonderfully tongue-in-cheek Shakespeare.

King Richard may be willing to give his kingdom for a horse, but audiences experiencing Michael Lopez's zany Richard will most likely never give up all those laughs and settle - without at least a slight tinge of regret - for the more tradtional tragedy of "Richard III."

For a schedule of "Hamlet" and "Richard III" performances and other Nevada Shakespeare Company performances and events call 775-324-4198 or go to www.nevada-shakespeare.org on the internet.